islandhippy

As Mum arrived from the UK in summer gardening mode, we choose to celebrate her birthday at Halia restaurant in Singapore's Botanic Gardens. I arrived at the Gardens at 6pm having spent the whole day at an Intellectual Property seminar so happily collapsed in a chair with a refreshing glass of chilled Australian Sauvignon Blanc. The three ladies -- Mum, Sandy and baby Olive -- arrived shortly afterwards and we were seated at a lovely table in the restaurant's al fresco dining area. Halia does have a sealed, airconditioned section but who wouldn't sit outside among the fauna and flora? (Answer: those people who didn't make a reservation!) This was the first time we were taking seven-week-old Olive out to a smart restaurant for dinner and we were a little worried she might get the evening frets and scream the whole place down. In fact, Olive was fantastic -- the trick was to carry her to the nearby waterfall, where she quickly fell asleep to the sound of cascading water.

While the ambience was fantastic, the food wasn't quite as good as we had hoped for. For starters Mum had soft-shell crab "slightly too much batter", Sandy ordered seared blue fin tuna "very nice" and I took scallop carpaccio with a yuzu ponzu dressing. Sandy's tuna was the clear favourite there. For mains, Mum had fish en papillote with Japanese rice and pickles "not enough seasoning and a little overcooked", Sandy took the lobster risotto and I had Javanese spice-encrusted rack of lamb "delicious with hints of nutmeg and cloves". Everything was washed down with a bottle of Australian Grenache. Dessert was very good; we shared a teh tarik (Malay spiced milk tea) creme brulee served with a superb ginger sherbet, and a hot chocolate torte, which we could have bought anywhere but is always delicious. The ginger sherbet was the star here and was just one of many ways the chefs incorporated ginger into the menu. The restaurant is located next to the Ginger Garden and the name of the restaurant, Halia, is the Malay word for ginger.

Halia
1 Cluny Road, Ginger Garden
(enter via Tyersall Avenue)
Singapore Botanic Gardens
Singapore 259569
Reservations: 6476 6711